Maserati Ghibli to debut in Shanghai

With the all-new Quattroporte poised to enter India by June 2013, Maserati is sharpening its trident for yet another new car – the Ghibli, which will be unveiled by the company at the forthcoming Shanghai Motor Show to be held between 23rd-29th April. As the only Indian publication to have driven the new Quattroporte (TopGear January 2013), we had already told you that the Italian sportscar maker will be bringing in the Ghibli, the new GranTurismo, the Levante SUV and a Porsche 911-sized sportscar in the next couple of years in the company’s bid to grow sales to 50,000 cars a year. And the Ghibli will be the second product after the Quattroporte to take the company in that direction.

Based on a modified version of the Quattroporte, the Ghibli will be a four-door sedan, but of a shorter length. While the new Quattroporte is built to take on the higher-performance variants of the Merc S-Class, Audi A8 and BMW 7 series, the Ghibli will target the BMW M5, Audi RS6 and the Merc E63 AMG. In fact, the Ghibli is the main reason that the new Quattroporte has gone on the comfort and luxury route leaving the Ghibli to take over from where the older more aggressive, driver-oriented Quattroporte left off.

The Ghibli will be powered by a twin-turbo petrol and - in a first for Maserati – a diesel engine. Both will be V6s. And a performance variant could get the twin-turbo V8 petrol powering the new Quattroporte. An eight-speed automatic transmission will be standard where buyers will be able to chose between all-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive models.

We very much liked the sense of space and luxury in the new Quattroporte, but missed the aggression we usually associate with four-door cars wearing the trident badge. Here’s hoping the Ghibli will take over that mantle.